Chapter 32: Getting Kay Ready for the Real World.

When Kay returned from work we went to the hot tub.

"Rob, do you want to do more to get back in my good graces?"

"Yes, of course I do. I always want to be in your good graces but what did you have in mind just now?"

"Can I get another foot massage?"

"Oh, is that all, sure; I like to give you pleasure." I moved to the center of the tub and she raised a foot up for me to work it over. I started rubbing it from the ankle down and concentrated on kneading the sole.

"Mmmm, that does feel good. I might keep you around if you can do nothing else than this."

I shifted to her other foot. "I have other talents, as well. I've just not shown them to you, yet."

"Are you going to any time soon?"

"In due time, but I don't think there's any rush."

We finished up in the tub and after closing it, we took our joint shower. Again we washed each other and stayed in the safe zone while we did.

When we were in bed with the lights out, Kay was fidgeting and seemed to be on the verge of saying something but holding back.

"Is there a problem, Kay?"

"No, why did you ask?"

"Because you're fidgeting and at least twice now I thought you were going to say something and then you backed off. What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on, nothing bad, anyway."

"That statement, all by itself, is proof positive something is going on. If there was truly nothing going on, you wouldn't have had to add the second half to your statement. Now, we can play twenty questions and I can try to guess what's going on between your ears or you can just break down and tell me."

"I was wondering something."

"What is it you were wondering, or am I not allowed to ask the question so directly?"

She laid there obviously thinking about how she wanted to proceed. While thinking, she was lying on by side with her leg thrown over mine, her head on my shoulder and she was idly toying with the hair on my chest. "Rob, why aren't you pushing me, to go further or faster than you are? I may be somewhat naïve but I'm not dumb. I know from talking with girls that I know here, that usually guys are a whole lot more demanding and pushy when it comes to the physical stuff. I heard the same from friends when I was still in high school. So how come?"

Now it was my turn to think before I proceeded and I did.

"Kay, I've told you more than once, I don't go for casual sex. I won't say I don't desire or react to you, it would be a lie and besides you've seen and felt my reaction. I'm not a slave to my physical body, though. I'm a rational adult. It may be a function of my being older than the guys you're used to or that your girl friends have talked about and I think it probably is. All I can say is younger guys and girls don't always think and consider the longer term consequences of their actions for themselves or for their partners.

"As you grow older you usually grow wiser. Part of the wiser thing is delayed gratification. I'm into this as a long term relationship. I want the relationship, physical, emotional and mental, to be as good for you as it can be. Building up to complete intimacy slowly will help in that. I look forward to us being together for a long, long time and I want you to look forward, not just to the first time but to every time and every way. I think going slowly is the best way forward, for both of us."

"You know, if the kids my age took half the time to do these things that you're talking about, and sort of forcing me to look at, there'd be a lot fewer unhappy kids, both guys and girls. There'd also be a lot less hurt feelings all over campus."

"It isn't just on campus; it's also out in the working world, the real world. I'm not saying the old ways are always better or that there aren't benefits to sometimes moving faster than others but you saw a lot fewer divorces and separations in the past than you do now. Broken families are hard on the man and the woman involved. Kids of those families also take a beating, being shuttled back and forth between parents or worse, used as pawns by the parents to hurt each other."

"I never could understand how parents did that to their kids. How they hurt them."

"It's bad enough when a couple splits up that they hurt each other, many times never intending to. When there are kids involved, they almost always suffer more than the parents do, even in the best of split ups. If the parents turn to using the kids to hurt their ex-partner, it's ten times worse for the kids. The courts do the best they can but there really is no GOOD solution. I won't ever do that to my kids. I'd suffer in silence first because I have an obligation to any kids I produce or adopt to give them the best possible start in life and that's for the first twenty years or so."

"It's hard for me to think in those terms."

"Of course it is. We're talking about your entire life span, so far. It's another reason to move slowly, to be sure of yourself, where you are and where you're going to be. I don't ever want to go through a break up or subject anyone else to it. What I went through with my last serious girlfriend was hard enough."

"I can understand it, I guess. Thanks for being so honest with me. I know it can be hard. Oops, no pun intended."

"Okay, so now you're the comedienne. Anything else you want to talk about tonight, funny girl?"

"I don't think so. I love you, Rob." She turned her face up to me for a kiss. After we held it for a little bit she said, "Good night."

"G'nite, Kay."

It was an easy Sunday for us. After breakfast and coffee, I went to do some yard work. I didn't want to go sailing without Kay and she had to work in the evening. I was very used to having her around me and I wasn't happy to be away from her any more than necessary. Kay stayed in the house saying she had laundry to do and wanted to go over everything in her closet now that she had new clothes.

When she called me in for lunch she had the great room strewn with clothes, including all the new ones. They were everywhere.

As we were eating the salads she put together I asked, "What's going on, Kay? Is there a problem with what you bought yesterday?"

"No, there's no problem. I'm just organizing my wardrobe for the summer. Most of what I got was separates and I can put them together as different outfits. I was just going through everything and putting tops 1, 2, and 3 with bottoms A, B, and C. Not all combinations work and I'd rather go through things now so I know if I have to pick anything else up or not."

"That's good planning and what I expect from you. I've said from the beginning, you've got a head on your shoulders and it's not filled with cotton candy, there's some useful gray matter in there, too."

"Do you want to see some of the combinations I've decided on?"

"Sure."

When we finished the salads and had the bowls in the dishwasher, we went into the great room. She started in one corner and worked her way around the room. I could see how she had grouped things to make them easier to work with.

"I think I'm in good shape with tops but I'm not sure about bottoms. I think I have too many pairs of slacks and not enough skirts. What do you think?"

"You may know more than I do but I don't see that you have a problem. As I understand this internship program, you're in an office most of the time but it's back office type work where you're going to be seen by the supervisors and your coworkers. You're not in a front office where you're going to be representing the company to outside people. If that is actually the case, I think you're in good shape. Now, do you have any dressier clothes for the rarer times you may need them?"

"I have three or four full dresses I can wear, but that's it."

"Bring 'em on out here and let's see them, too."

Kay went back to our bedroom and came back with three dresses which she draped across the sofa on top of the clothes already there. "This is what I've got." She then proceeded to hold them up against herself, one at a time, looking to me for comment.

"If you're asking me, only two of those are suitable in a working office environment. That floral print won't do."

"This is all I have."

"Don't worry; I don't think we have a tragedy here, even with only two dresses. They're enough for a start and should get you through at least a week or two when you combine them with all the tops and bottoms here. I don't think you should go out and buy any more clothes until you at least go through the orientation week when you start. That will give you some idea of what you're going to need to fill out your wardrobe."

"But I've already spent so much money on clothes. And don't think I've forgotten that it was you who spent the money. I know I have to pay you back but you have to tell me what it all came to."

"You need to hang on to the receipts for your taxes for next year, too."

"Hunh?"

"You have to start thinking like a working adult and think about your taxes all through the year, not just when you're filing your return. Receipts are important when you're putting together your return and itemizing deductions to get as much of your tax money back as you can."

"I hadn't even thought about taxes. I'm going to have to fill out all those forms when I start, aren't I?"

"You can count on it. The company has you fill out the forms not only for you but for themselves. I'm sure they get tax breaks for hiring and training interns. It'll be part of your orientation, probably the first day. Make sure you have two forms of identification with you; you're going to need them for the H.R. paperwork."

Kay didn't realize I'd changed the subject on her to deflect her from how much she'd spent on the shopping trip. I wasn't ready yet to talk about finances with her. She didn't know it but we were going car shopping this week and I was going to make sure she had a decent set of wheels. I knew she couldn't afford much but I could.

"Arg! How much of this type of stuff is there?"

"That depends on how big a company is and how much work they do with or for some government agency. There's the Federal government, the State government and the Municipal government. There are different levels of Municipal government, too. The higher the level of government, the more complex and time consuming the paperwork type of stuff is. At least it seems that way. The same thing goes for how many people a company has on the payroll."

"How on earth, do you keep this straight?"

"I keep it straight by being a one man operation and being careful with what clients I have or take on. If you look at my client list you'll see I have no government agencies on it. Those two things keep my administrative paperwork as close to a minimum as I can get. It can still be complicated and a pain in the wazoo. I do what I have to because if I don't, it's a huge hassle."

"When we talked about the party, you said I was your A.A. and that's how you were introducing me. If you really hired me to be that, would it be a lot of work? You couldn't just hire me and pay me whatever we agreed on?"

"No way it's that simple. I'd have to do all sorts of paperwork and keep lots and lots of records I don't have to keep if I stay all by myself. Still I might consider you to be worth it." I smiled at her so she knew I was joking.

"Funny man. What am I going to do?"

"I'd suggest you clean this all up. Put the things away so they're easiest and logical for you to get out and then let's have a swim."

She stood looking at all the clothing around us and gave a big sigh. "I guess. There's nothing else I have to do before I get ready for work. It's my last night and I'll miss some of the people at the restaurant when I'm done."

"Yeah, but you're moving ahead with your life and that's a good thing. It's not like you'll never see them again. I promise I'll take you there for a meal or better yet, you can take me there after you get your first check as an intern. Do you want help with moving everything back?"

"No, you go ahead and I'll be out in about fifteen minutes."

She started with the dresses, moving things back to the closet. While she did that, I went out to the pool and checked the chemistry before I used the skimmer to get what few things had fallen in. I was just putting the skimmer up on the side of the cabana when Kay came out in her bikini.

"Is there anyone around or can we go skinny dipping?"

"I think that being it's Sunday, there may be too many people wandering around to go skinny dipping today, so I'm going to say no."

"Fuddy-duddy!" She stuck her tongue out at me and dove in.

I like her tongue and was thinking it might be time to show her what I could do with mine, or at least some of what I could do. I dove in after her and was stroking hard to catch her. As soon as I could, I grabbed her ankle and pulled her back towards me. It took her by surprise, I completely broke her rhythm and concentration and she started sinking. I let go of her ankle and as she got her feet down, she turned and jumped on me.

"That's not playing fair. You're bigger than I am, how am I going to dunk you?" she said as she got off my back.

"Very carefully, with guile and deceit or not at all." I turned to face her and was laughing which served to spin her up even more. I should have paid more attention because all of a sudden I had a mouth and face full of pool water as she splashed me.

We played around, splashing and evading each other's grasp to avoid being pushed under. It was a good time and we were both sorry it had to end but she needed to get ready and go to work.

That night when we were in bed cuddling and kissing I kept her close and let my tongue out to lick her lips as we kissed. She responded and soon we were dueling with our tongues.

"Mmmm, I like that, a lot. We can do that anytime you want to." She stretched up and kissed me again. We were making out like kids in the back seat of a car until we settled down to sleep.

Monday I wasn't working because it was Memorial Day and Kay was through with classes. She had nothing that had to be done for the day. We were still in bed and had a couple of good morning kisses that were very nice. We both reacted to them and things were getting hotter than I wanted them to, just yet.

"Kay, I was thinking about a day sail. The weather should be good with a light and varying wind."

"I'd like that."

"I would, too, but instead of that I think we need to look at cars for you since it's a holiday and the dealerships will all be having sales. The sales staff will be pushing hard."

"But you told me to stay away from dealers."

"You're right I did but I was talking about a beater, though, something for a college student. The situation is different now. You need a car as an office worker, a young and new office worker. That car has to be better than a beater. It has to be reliable and look decent. To get a car like this, you go to a dealership. A first car shouldn't be a new one but a good used car. You want to buy and get the most for your money, that's why I'm coming along with you, if you'll let me."

"Let you? I want you there with me. I need your help to get a good car. I've never bought one before; you have. I didn't think we'd do it this soon but you're right, I need to get a car and the sooner the better. I don't know what I'm going to be able to get with the money I have set aside. I'm afraid I won't have nearly enough."

"Let's get dressed and grab a bite of breakfast. We can talk more while we eat and have some coffee. I'm not doing anything without coffee." We dressed in shorts and tee shirts and went to the kitchen. Without Kay seeing what I was doing I stopped in my office, got some cash from my safe, put it in an envelope and put the envelope in my back pocket.

We ate and talked, figuring out which dealerships we were going to visit and in what order. We talked about what she was looking for and what she would settle for. We had a pad of paper and made notes so we would stay on track and we could make additional notes as we looked at the different vehicles. I was letting Kay take the lead since it was going to be her car. I didn't have a preference when it came to the dealerships, none of them was a client and I had no connections or allegiances to work with so all options were open.

Kay had worked it out to a late model Honda or Toyota but was willing to look at Hyundai and Subaru models as well. Fortunately for us we had a street that was referred to as dealership row and that's where we went.

Four hours later we were sitting in a Mickey D. having a quick bite and reviewing the notes we had made. I had ruled out some of the cars we looked at and so had Kay for various reasons. When we started I told her not to let money be the deciding factor. I wanted her to choose a car based on her needs and its merits. We had narrowed it down to a Honda Fit and a Toyota Yaris both of which were two year old models. They were at two different dealerships that were conveniently owned by the same corporation which was good for us.

"Rob, either of these would be great for me and I should be able to get at least three years use no matter which I go with. I know you told me not to think about the money but now that we have it narrowed down to these two, isn't it time?"

"You tell me how much you have to spend and let me do the negotiating at the dealership. Of the two, do you have a preference?"

"I don't see that it matters, I don't have the money for either one. I'll let you try but I want to be there with you to see how and if you can do this. I'll be happy no matter which you can get."

"I think I can make it happen and if you don't have a preference it'll be easier. Let's go back and look at both of them again. This time we'll take them out on test drives."

We went back for the Toyota first. The saleswoman was happy to see us back but wasn't as happy when I insisted on two test drives, one for each of us. I told her we were still looking but the car was one of two we had narrowed it down to. We went two doors down to look at the Honda again. The salesman there was more open to us doing two test drives. Kay and I stepped outside to talk.

"Now that you've driven them are they both still acceptable to you, Kay?"

"I can be happy with either one; they were both comfortable when I drove them. Did you notice anything that makes one better than the other?"

"No, they're both good. Let's go talk money with them. Please don't say anything about money, let me work some magic if I can."

We went back in and the salesman was waiting for us with a smile on his face. It shocked the heck out of him when we walked right by him and up to the reception desk.

When I had the receptionist's attention I said, "I'd like to see the sales manager please."

"I don't know if he's in the building right now."

"If he isn't, I'll talk with the General Manager but I'll be less happy. Please see who you can get for me."

She picked up the phone and about two minutes later a new face showed up. He identified himself as Mark Sheppard, the Sales Manager and asked if there was a problem.

I went into negotiation mode. "There's no problem but I want to purchase a car. Before you say anything, yes I was working with a salesman and he did a great job of showing me a vehicle. If I make the purchase here I want him to get his full commission. I have it down to two cars, one here and one at your Toyota dealership. I don't feel like shuttling back and forth to negotiate and play one salesperson against another. I thought if I worked with you it would make things easier all around."

"You figured I could negotiate for both vehicles. Okay, I can do that. Please come to my office so we can sit down and I can get you both something to drink. I also have to call my counterpart in the Toyota dealership."